ER; Textual Analysis of The Woman In Black (2012)

The Woman In Black (2012)



Genre
This film belongs to the horror genre. The audience's expectations are fulfilled by a traditional ghost story involving the deaths of children. This topic is a very conventional horror topic as they are seen as most vulnerable.

Form and Style

A very dreamy, light atmosphere is portrayed which is different to a conventional dark horror movie. A sense of foreboding is introduced by the lack of dialogue and facial expressions in the children. Their movements are very robotic as if they are being controlled by someone or something else. Character exposition is minimal as the children die before we have a chance to connect to them. Titles are incorporated into the footage through the clouds, carrying on the ghost-like feel to it. The title of the film connotes death from the word "black" as that is the colour usually worn to funerals and it is also associated with darkness.

Film Language

White clothes of children and the toys suggest innocence and purity in contrast to the Woman in Black. A grey scale is used so minimal colour can be seen, making the atmosphere more serious. The soundtrack used is quite creepy, the sort to make "the hairs stand up on the back of your neck" to build tension as the audience expects something bad to happen. The camera shot is from the Woman in Black's point of view at the end, so although we haven't seen her face yet, we see her veil around the edges of the shot so we know that the children were being watched and controlled. We don't learn much about the characters because of lack of dialogue and facial expressions but the blank faces creates mystery and fear.

Narrative
We are introduced to the three girls, to briefly become interested in their characters only to watch them die before we become too attached. This evokes shock, and can shake up the audience and put them on edge for the rest of the film. It gives us an insight as to what main themes will be explored throughout the film, in this case, death and control. The woman in black is portrayed as an outsider right away by the fact that she stands alone, isolating her from any other characters. She is only actually seen momentarily at the end, from her point of view. The fact that she shows no emotion or reaction to the sight of the death of three children creates tension as she stands and watches and we know immediately that she is the cause of it. No dialogue also creates tension and the slow motion of the movement maintains it

Representation & Ideology

Middle class children, Edwardian English are represented. We know this by the clothes they wear and the toys they play with. Children are represented as easy to control but also the hardest to lose. A residual ideology of children being weak is evident.

Media Audiences
The target audience is teenagers, which is why the film is based a lot around the deaths of children as they can relate to that more than adults can, making it more scary for them.

Institutional Context
Daniel Radcliffe, famous for the successful Harry Potter movies, was used, to bring in a wider audience. It is an industrial film produced by Hammer Film Productions. This film was marketed by usual ways of advertising such as regular TV spots and billboards.